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Happy Yarn Mail April 2017 Review

Save your money, friends. This box is a terrible value and the company is run very unprofessionally. The patterns are not unique, and the extra gifts are junk, in this girl’s humble opinion.

I am a sucker for subscription boxes, and while there are several out there that cater to crafters and even yarn lovers, they are typically geared towards knitters and include patterns for projects I would never make. Or they come with super expensive yarn that I would have trouble finding, never mind how impractical it would be for the projects I tend to make.

So when I heard about Happy Yarn Mail, and saw a preview of the first month’s box, I have to admit, I was pretty darn excited! On the website, Happy Yarn Mail promises an exclusive crochet design each month, only for subscribers and designed especially for the box, all items needed to make the project minus the hook, an exclusive video tutorial for the pattern, and extra crochet freebies designed exclusively for subscribers.

The monthly box costs $29.95 plus shipping, which for me was almost $10, ouch. I handed over my $40 and happily waited for my Happy Yarn Mail to arrive.

How stinkin’ pretty is that box? I mean…….so cute!!! It definitely made me smile, and looked super cute, waiting for me on my doorstep.

Inside was a pretty pop of hot pink tissue paper and a thank you note card.

Once you lift the tissue paper, you are greeted with your project for the month!

This month’s project is Crochet Hoop Art. Included is one hoop, what looks like a full skein of Lion Brand yarn in an off white color, and then three tiny little hand rolled skeins of the colors needed to make the hydrangea flowers. There were no labels on any of the yarn. The extra gift this month is the little plastic notions bag, that comes with a tiny bottle of glue and a little sampling of fringe, I am guessing to wrap around the bag?

The instructions look to be well written, though I have not yet made the project. I have never seen anything like this before, so it is definitely a unique idea! And this pattern opens the door for so many other fun ideas you can make with the basic instructions given here.

My only problem with this box is the value. For $40, I was underwhelmed. Lets go over an estimated price list here.

*Lion Brand yarn is about $3.99 per skein. The tiny mini skeins come nowhere near a full skein all added together, so I would value the amount of yarn in this box as $5.

*Embroidery hoops are really inexpensive unless you get into the higher end materials and finishes. This is a basic, inexpensive model, so we’ll say it has a value rounded up to $3.

*Crochet Patterns are generally between $3-$5 on sites such as Etsy or Ravelry. This is a pretty simple pattern, but it is printed in color for us, so let’s give it $4.

*Notions bag with glue and fringe. This is a plastic material with a tiny amount of fringe and a tiny bottle of glue. It’s cute, and nice to have everything you need to fancy up the little bag all ready for you. At best, I would say we could value the whole set at $5.

With these values, it brings the total estimated value of the box to $17. But we paid $30 for the box and an extra $10 for shipping. Is this a good value at $40 per month? I hate to say it, but I don’t think so.

I love the pretty box, I love the crochet theme, I love the projects I have seen so far, and I really love the whole idea. But I think it needs to be priced better. I would be happy paying $25 a month for this box, tops. I know the estimated $17 value we gave it is definitely more than it cost to put it together because companies get things at discounts for buying in bulk. And I realize this is a small business at the moment, put together by a blogger and crochet designer.

Also, the exclusive patterns that come in the box that aren’t available anywhere else? March’s pattern is available for purchase through the owner’s Etsy shop. For $4.99. Umm…

Next month’s box has an add on item, a pretty crochet hook, that you can purchase in addition to the box or separately, in limited quantities. The crafter behind the hooks has a horrible reputation online, of taking money and not delivering goods, so I would be wary of even purchasing the item. I’m not sure if Happy Yarn Box already has the hooks in their possesion or not, but it sounds like it could be a nightmare.

I plan on trying a few more boxes to see if the value can be found, because like I said, I really do love everything about this box except for the high price tag! Stay tuned for an update with the finished pattern and review on how it turned out, as well as a review for any other boxes I may purchase.

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4 thoughts on “Happy Yarn Mail April 2017 Review”

Thank you for this review! I really, really wanted to subscribe to this box, but when I headed to the website to sign up and saw I would have spent $40 on what looked like a pattern (though, to be fair, a cute one), a cheap-looking plastic bag with a few small notions, and yarn that I could have bought for a few bucks at Jo-Ann, I was really disappointed. I thought I was going nuts because every other review I read seemed to be raving about this sub, so I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who thinks the pricing is WAY off-base. I subscribe to several other yarn/crochet boxes that cost less than Happy Yarn Mail and that give me at least $50 or $60 worth of goodies in each shipment, so unless the price changes, I guess I’ll be crossing HYM off my to-buy list.

I love everything about this box except for the price! And just like you, all of the reviews I have seen about it rave on and on without a single criticism to be heard. Crazy or not, I had to share my honest opinion! I am very passionate about crafting and yarn and crochet, so this was so exciting to me, but ultimately ended up being a big bummer.

Do you have any recommendations for an awesome yarn box? If so, I would love to know!

I had a problem the first time I entered the code as well, I believe it is due to the last letter in the url provided in the instruction booklet. I don’t remember whether it was a lower case “L” or a capital letter “i”, but when I tried the alternative the second time, it worked!

I hope that helps you! If not, I would try contacting her directly, so she can give you a working link.